


Clearing the Air

by agent85



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: As in explaining the definition thereof, Brief Discussion of Rape, Canonical Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 06:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agent85/pseuds/agent85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sober!Simmons and a drunk!Skye are still reeling from the events in 2x10.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clearing the Air

Simmons has to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from spraying her tea all over Skye.

"Excuse me?"

"C'mon Simmons, we've already talked about how guys fawned all over you at the Academy. It's not like you don't have experience."

She feels the drunken nudge from Skye's shoulder, but the smile that accompanies it is hollow, and Simmons' heart sinks.

"Skye, this really isn't appropriate."

"Simmons," Skye admonishes, her grin fading as she keeps her eyes trained on her beer, "everyone could see you and Trip had a . . . a thing going on right at the beginning."

"I didn't sleep with him, Skye," she says, trying to hold back a blush, "and I think maybe you've had enough for tonight."

She plucks the beer out of Skye's hands without resistance, but with her alcohol withdrawn, Skye collapses into her folded arms.

"I know," she stammers, raising her head up, "I know that you think guys are boring, or whatever, but he wasn't. He . . . was smart. And a lot of other things, too. Don't tell me you never thought about it." 

Simmons takes a breath in, and lets it out.

"Trip was a great man. He saved my life more times than I'd really like to think about, to be honest. He was a great teammate and a better friend. He'll," she pauses for the tremor rippling through her chest, "he'll be sorely missed."

"But he was the whole package, you know?" Skye pinches her eyes shut. "And he was, uh, proportional, and all that." When her eyes open, Skye wipes away a tear. "And really, you could get any guy you want, so I don't know why you wouldn't . . . why you wouldn't . . ."

Simmons knows that her friend's about to break, and the scientist's arms are already in place when Skye starts to sob.

"Skye, we were friends, that's all. If you," she swallows, "if you had feelings for Trip, it's perfectly fine with me. Not that it matters, of course, what I think."

"He died for me," Skye chokes, and Simmons releases her embrace to rub Skye's back.

"The way you feel is perfectly natural. Healthy, even."

It was never like this with Fitz, Simmons realizes, even when his grandmother died. She's spent ten years learning how to be a friend to one person, and all her training is useless here.

Fitz could fix this, she thinks. He'd find a way.

"You're going to tell me that out of all the guys you had, Trip didn't make the cut?"

Simmons pulls back from Skye, just a little, her fingers floating over Skye's back before retreating completely.

"I have a feeling that we may have had a bit of a misunderstanding. I told you that I didn't have any boyfriends."

"Yeah, but you and that guy . . . you said you only did it once, because he was boring. And there were other guys. I remember that there were a lot of guys."

Simmons buries her face in her hands. "We went on one  _date_ ," she corrects, horrified. "Honestly Skye, I was seventeen back then, and most SHIELD recruits get a Ph.D in their twenties. If we had . . . well, let's just say he was wary of committing statutory rape. So yes, I got a lot of attention, but not like that." Simmons shakes it off, then smiles at a pleasant memory. "I did get quite an education in kissing, though."

"Oh."

"I'm very good at it."

"I . . . I believe you."

Simmons gives her a smile, deciding that as embarrassing as it is, maybe it's worth it to keep going on this tangent.

"And by the time I actually turned eighteen," she continues, "I had . . ."

"Fitz."

Simmons balks for a second before shooting a look at Skye. "Yes, we were partners by then. And we were so busy bouncing ideas off each other that the next thing we knew, we were graduated and in SciOps. And then we were on the BUS."

"And now you guys are here." Skye finishes. "Or,  _you're_  here, and he's . . . there." Simmons' eyes follow where Skye is pointing before she realizes that the gesture is largely metaphorical.

"Something like that," Simmons says.

"And I guess if you didn't make a move on Fitz in ten years . . ."

"Skye!"

"Then there's no telling how long it would take you to get into Trip's pants." Skye sends another half-hearted nudge into Simmon's shoulder before Simmons hears her deflate into a sigh.

"Fitz," Simmons blurts, making a desperate attempt to steer the conversation, "is my best friend. That's all."

"Best friends who share a brain," Skye counters. "Don't tell me you never thought about it."

"I didn't!"

"Yes, you did, everybody thinks that about every member of the opposite sex, at least once. Well, unless you're gay, then I guess it's the other way around. But anyway, what I'm saying is . . ." Skye trails off, then gives Simmons a confused look.

Simmons sighs. "Fitz."

"Right. Fitz . . . is a guy. You're into guys. There's no way you didn't size him up at one point or another. It's human nature. He's just your brand of nerd, and it's not like he'd say no."

"Well, Skye . . ."

"You guys would have really cute kids, too. It's a shame, really." She stretches to reach for the beer, and before Simmons can stop her, she takes another swig. "Trip and I would have had cute kids," she mutters.

"Trip cared for you a great deal," Simmons finally says.

"But nothing ever happened, between us, I mean. And it's not like I'm in love with him, but what if I could have been? He was the whole package."

"Yeah, he was," Simmons agrees, one hand returning to Skye's back as the other retrieves the beer.

"He's a lot better than Ward."

"That's for sure."

"And a lot nicer, too."

"He was very kind."

"And he died for me. Because of me."

Simmons pauses, searching for the words.

"He died doing exactly what he believed in, Skye. He died fighting for his friends. He's a hero. Maybe someday you'll be a big hero, too."

Skye smiles, but it fades quickly.

"Seriously though, you should definitely tell Fitz. Don't do what I did. Don't let him die for you, without at least kissing him once. Just to see if you like it, you know?"

Simmons swallows, suddenly remembering the look on Fitz's face when he pushed the canister into her hands, and the way he couldn't look at her when he formally dissolved their partnership. 

"I don't know if kissing Fitz will solve anything."

"It'll stop him from moping so much, that's for sure. Might be the best thing for both of you."

"I'll, uh, I'll take that into consideration."

"You know, especially since you're so good at kissing," Skye teases, laughing at her own joke.

"I . . . I think it's getting late, Skye. Probably time for us to get to bed, don't you think?"

Simmons stands up, coaxing Skye to do the same.

"There you go," she says. "I'll walk you to your room, okay?"

"I'm not drunk, Simmons."

"Of course you're not. I just thought you'd like the company."

"Simmons."

"Hmmm?"

"You're a terrible liar."

**Author's Note:**

> I realize that this presents a rather unpopular opinion on Simmons' sexual past, but when you consider that most people get Ph.Ds in their LATE twenties (even early thirties), things gets really creepy really fast. Even super smart SHIELD scientists are probably graduating around twenty five or so, assuming they get a masters before they enter the doctorate program. There are likely only a small handful of Donnies, Seths, and Callies per graduating class, so my guess is that Fitzsimmons are only now starting to work with scientists that are around their age.


End file.
